The Middle East: 561–550 BCE

Colonization and Expansion in Anatolia

Around 560–558 BCE, Megarian colonists establish Heraclea Pontica (modern Ereğli) on the Black Sea coast, named after the legendary Greek hero Heracles. The colony quickly expands its influence, subjugating the indigenous Mariandynians, who become helot-like serfs with the protection of not being sold into foreign slavery. Benefiting from fertile lands and abundant fisheries, Heraclea Pontica grows prosperous, extending its territorial control eastward along the coast to Cytorus (near modern Cide).

Rise of Cyrus the Great

In 559 BCE, Cyrus, son of Cambyses, becomes ruler of the Persian district of Anshan under Median overlordship. Cyrus, reportedly a descendant of Median king Astyages through his mother, initially rules as a subordinate prince. The expansive Median Empire, under Astyages, encompasses vast territories from Anatolia to the Iranian plateau.

Dissatisfaction with Astyages’ rule motivates a revolt in 553 BCE, led by Cyrus with crucial support from the Median general Harpagus. Following several inconclusive battles, a pivotal mutiny within the Median forces facilitates Cyrus’ entry into the Median capital Ecbatana in 549 BCE. Astyages is captured, but spared, and Cyrus transfers the royal treasury to his capital at Susa. This victory effectively dismantles the Median Empire, marking the ascendance of Cyrus and the rise of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

Developments in Babylon and Hebrew Literature

Babylon experiences internal shifts during this era. King Nabonidus, largely preoccupied with antiquarian and religious interests, becomes increasingly unpopular with the Babylonian priesthood. In response, Nabonidus elevates his son, Belshazzar, to the role of co-regent around 550 BCE. Meanwhile, in Judahite communities living in exile in Babylon, substantial religious and literary developments occur. Around 550 BCE, priestly sources contribute significantly to the final compilation of the Torah. Concurrently, key biblical texts, including the Book of Joshua and the Books of Kings, undergo editing and expansion.

Thus, this era witnesses transformative geopolitical shifts with the rise of Cyrus, significant colonial expansions in Anatolia, and crucial religious and literary developments among the exiled Judahite communities in Babylon, profoundly influencing the future political and cultural landscape of the Middle East.

Babylon’s king Nabonidus, more interested in antiquarian pursuits than in affairs of state and unpopular with the priests of Marduk, officially elevates his son Belshazzar, the crown prince, to coregent in 550 BCE, according to Babylonian sources. (Biblical sources, however, name Belshazzar as the son of Nebuchadnezzar, who was conquered by Darius the Mede).

A priestly source (P), some parts of which are very old, is added to the final edition of the Torah about 550, during the Jews’ Babylonian Captivity.

The “Book of Joshua” and the “Books of Kings “are updated and reedited around this time.

The Middle East: 549–538 BCE

Cyrus the Great and the Persian Ascendancy

By 549 BCE, Cyrus the Great has firmly established his rule, officially assuming the title "King of Persia." Having previously dismantled the Median Empire and consolidated power by capturing the Median capital of Ecbatana, Cyrus continues to expand the burgeoning Achaemenid Persian Empire. He incorporates Media seamlessly into his empire, forming a lasting union of the Persians and Medes, and unites the twin kingdoms of Parsa and Anshan into the heartland of Persia proper.

Conquest of Lydia and Anatolian Expansion

Cyrus’s ambitious westward expansion places him in conflict with the wealthy kingdom of Lydia, ruled by Croesus. Initially engaging in an indecisive battle at Pteria in Cappadocia, Cyrus decisively defeats Croesus at the subsequent Battle of Thymbra. The Lydian capital, Sardis, soon falls after a brief siege around 546 BCE, leading to Persian dominance over Lydia and its Greek colonies, including cities like Ephesos and Cyzicus. This marks the beginning of Persia's profound influence over Anatolia and its Greek-speaking communities.

Persian Consolidation and the Fall of Babylon

After securing Lydia and the Ionian Greek cities along the Aegean coast, Cyrus turns his attention to Babylonia, exploiting internal unrest and dissatisfaction under King Nabonidus and his co-regent son, Belshazzar. In 539 BCE, Persian forces engage Babylonian armies at the strategic location of Opis along the Tigris River. Cyrus swiftly secures victory, leading to the rapid surrender of major Babylonian centers including Babylon, Sippar, and Ur.

Babylon's conquest is notably recorded on the famous Cyrus Cylinder, an inscription where Cyrus proclaims himself "king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four corners of the world," emphasizing his policy of restoring religious sanctuaries and repatriating displaced peoples. This conquest signals a definitive shift, positioning Persia as the dominant power across Mesopotamia and the wider Near East.

Thus, between 549 and 538 BCE, the Middle East undergoes dramatic geopolitical transformations, spearheaded by Cyrus's Persian Empire. His rapid and effective consolidation of power from Anatolia through Mesopotamia sets the stage for a new era of Persian ascendancy, profoundly reshaping the political and cultural landscape of the ancient world.

Cyrus, after incorporating Lydia and such Ionian dependencies as Ephesos to his Persian kingdom in 546, consolidates his rule over Ionian Greek cities on the coast of the Aegean Sea, then turns to Babylonia, where the people’s dissatisfaction with the rule of Nabonidus and his son provide Cyrus with a pretext for invasion.

Persia is the leading power in the Near East at the time of the Battle of Opis.

Its power has grown enormously under its king, who has conquered a huge swath of territory to create an empire that covers an area corresponding to the modern countries of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.

The only remaining significant unconquered power in the Near East is the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which controls Mesopotamia and subject kingdoms such as Syria, Judea, Phoenicia and parts of Arabia.

It had been closely linked with Cyrus's enemies elsewhere.

The empire was previously an ally of Croesus of Lydia, whose kingdom had been overrun by the Persians a few years earlier.

During a great banquet, Belshazzar, according to Biblical sources (Daniel 5), sees the “handwriting on the wall” that only the prophet Daniel can interpret: a message spelling the end of the Chaldean dynasty.

The dynasty indeed ends when Babylon, Sippar, Ur and other Neo-Babylonian centers surrender to Cyrus in 539 BCE.

Both Belshazzar and his father Nabonidus will die soon after.

The site of the final battle is at the city of Opis on the river Tigris, located about fifty miles (eighty kilometers) north of modern Baghdad.

The city is thought to have been a preferred point to cross the river; Xenophon describes a bridge there.

The timing of the invasion may have been determined by the ebb of the Mesopotamian rivers, which are at their lowest levels—and therefore are easiest to cross—in the early autumn.

Opis is a place of considerable strategic importance; apart from the river crossing, it is at one end of the Median Wall, a fortified defensive barrier north of Babylon that had been built several decades earlier by Nebuchadnezzar II.

Control of Opis will enable Cyrus to break through the Median Wall and open the road to the capital.

The main contemporary source of information on Cyrus's Mesopotamian campaign of 539 BCE is the Nabonidus Chronicle, one of a series of clay tablets collectively known as the Babylonian Chronicles that record the history of ancient Babylonia.

Some additional detail is provided by one of the few documents to have survived from Cyrus's lifetime, the Cyrus Cylinder.

Further information on Cyrus's campaign is provided by the later ancient Greek writers Herodotus and Xenophon, though neither mention the battle at Opis and their accounts of the campaign differ considerably from the Persian and Babylonian sources.

Most scholars prefer to use the Nabonidus Chronicle as the main source on the battle, as it is a contemporaneous source.

Although much of the Nabonidus Chronicle is fragmentary, the section relating to the last year of Nabonidus's reign—539 BCE—is mostly intact.

It provides very little information about Cyrus's activities in the years immediately preceding the battle.

The chronicler focuses on events of immediate relevance to Babylonia and its rulers, only occasionally records events outside Babylonia and does not provide much detail other than a bare outline of key incidents.

There is almost no information for the period 547-539.

Most of the chronicle's text for this period is illegible, making it impossible to assess the significance of the few words that can be read.

By the time of the battle, Babylonia is in an unpromising geopolitical situation; the Persian empire borders it to the north, east and west.

It has also been suffering severe economic problems exacerbated by plague and famine, and its king Nabonidus was said to be unpopular among many of his subjects for his unconventional religious policies.

Cyrus was said to have persuaded a Babylonian provincial governor named Gobryas (and a supposed Gadates) to defect to his side.

Gutium, the territory governed by Gobryas, is a frontier region of considerable size and strategic importance, which Cyrus was said to have used as the starting point for his invasion.

The Nabonidus Chronicle records that prior to the battle, Nabonidus had ordered cult statues from outlying Babylonian cities to be brought into the capital, suggesting that the conflict had begun possibly in the winter of 540 BCE.

In a fragmentary section of the chronicle which is presumed to cover 540/39 BCE, there is a possible reference to fighting, a mention of Ishtar and Uruk, and a possible reference to Persia The Battle of Opis is thus probably only the final stage in an ongoing series of clashes between the two empires.

After taking Babylon, Cyrus proclaims himself "king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four corners of the world" in the famous Cyrus cylinder, an inscription deposited in the foundations of the Esagila temple dedicated to the chief Babylonian god, Marduk.

The text of the cylinder denounces Nabonidus as impious and portrays the victorious Cyrus pleasing the god Marduk.

It describes how Cyrus had improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, repatriated displaced peoples and restored temples and cult sanctuaries.

Although some have asserted that the cylinder represents a form of human rights charter, historians generally portray it in the context of a long-standing Mesopotamian tradition of new rulers beginning their reigns with declarations of reforms.